What do you think?

[steelr43]

here's my situation. I'm getting a little Xmas $$$. I'm buying a Cherry Vibe. That's not the problem. The problem is I can get it for a lot less on line than my pro shop guy can get it for. The pro shop guy told me drilling was included in the price. But if I buy it on line, I will still save money even after he drills it. I have no problem supporting the small business man, but I'd rather have a little extra $$$ in my pocket.

Any thoughts

Thanks and Happy Holidays.

[Mike_N_Nashville]

I guess the biggest question that immediately jumps to mind, is how much are you saving in the end?

If it is $15-$20 then go to the pro shop definitely. If we are talking $75 then I might order online. If it is somewhere in between I would have to do a gut check and see what happened.

I used to order a lot of balls online as well when I was bowling league several years ago to save the $$$.

Recently though (in the past year) I have bought all of my new balls for both me and my wife through our local pro shop and here is what I have found.

The pro shop guy knows me by name and appears genuinely excited to see me when I walk through the door.

He comes out to watch me throw balls during practice and is glad to offer advice if he sees something I might be doing wrong.

He always cleans/polishes my balls for free whenever I need them done.

Often when I'm buying something he'll knock 10% off the price or waive the sales tax on a sale for no reason at all.

He gives me the scoop on when he is getting new balls in, when reps are coming to show off new balls to him and the staff, etc.

So I guess it depends on what type of relationship you want to build, or need to build, with your pro shop as well.

For me, the little extra I may be spending I think is more than made up for in what I am getting back.

Mike

[Lonewolf300800]

I agree with mike_in_nashville. nothing beats the relationship you have with your pro shop person. i will buy all my stuff from the proshop with the exception of older balls that are not made anymore that i find on ebay. only one person puts holes in my bowling balls, i don't trust anyone else to do so. because he knows i deal exclusively with him i also get good deals on new balls and any accessories i need to purchase. i've even taken several family members to him for proper fitting and drilling of new equipment. some people ask me if it's worth the 75 mile one-way trip, 150 roundtrip; and i tell them it's worth every penny. online is a great place to find discontinued or older balls, but new/current bowling balls should be purchased from your trusted pro shop perfessional.

[Crusher279757]

You always buy a new ball from your pro shop. Your driller will really appreciate it. The only time I get a ball online is when I get a used one from somebody. The last 2 balls I bought new online had some bad specs.

[steelr43]

Thanks for your opinions. I will buy from my Pro Shop.

[Megabore]

I bought my toxic from my local pro-shop guy. I could have saved like around $60 dollars buying one off the internet and having the pro-shop guy frill it. However my local pro-shop man has more than made it worth my while to use him he has hooked me up with lots of little tweaks when i needed them such as like adding a thumb slug for free when i said I didn't want one originally. Then doing constant adjustments for the thumb fitting. when I took it to him he would happily widen the thumb out, or replace an ill-fitting finger-grip. On top of that this guy took the time to make sure that I had the most perfect fit, and took time to watch me bowl to better be able to drill the ball for me. Then he also took time even though he was busy to watch me bowl with the new ball i just bought from him. He really cared that it was a good fit, and the right ball for me. I am so pleased with all my interactions with him that I took my wife in to get her new vibe through him, and not order it on the internet like she wanted to. She also got the same level of care and attention to detail. All I'm saying I guess is that your pro-shop guy will appreciate it, and building a positive relationship with your local pro-shop is always a good thing. Even when I found a really cheap deal on the roto-grip spare tire for my spare ball I took it to him, and let him know that it was just too good of a deal to pass up online, including shipping for a NIB ball was $40. My pro shop guy was like yeah i would have jumped on that too, as you could use a spare ball. So I just dropped it off to him and asked if i could come get it next week before league. I came back next week and it was a perfect fit just like my toxic. No tweaks necessary I just paid for the drilling and was ready to go. I really will go no where else now, even if i have to go to the other side of town when I start another league at a different bowling alley. I think your local pro-shop guy will apreciate the loyalty, and the business mostly :D

[bubbiesdad]

Pro shop guy who knows your game will also find the ball with the right pin/cg position for you, not whatever the guy at the warehouse pulls off the shelf.

[hbhammerhead]

i've been buying all my bowling balls off the internet and taking it to my pro shop to get drilled for awhile. i think that i have only bought 2 balls from him. i don't think it's that big of a deal because you're still going to pay him to drill the ball, and that's pretty much all profit with the exception of grips. i would buy the ball from the internet and take it the your guy to get drilled and pay cash.

[blistershurt]

The ONLY time you save alot of money on a ball from online is when you buy a high performance ball (i.e. Rival, in pro shop-200 online-109, plus 50 drilling with grips and slug, you got yourself 40 or so saved) on the lower performance, you will lose money buying online.

[hbhammerhead]

You always buy a new ball from your pro shop. Your driller will really appreciate it. The only time I get a ball online is when I get a used one from somebody. The last 2 balls I bought new online had some bad specs.

i have a good relationship with my pro shop guy and he knows that i buy my stuff online and he doesn't seem to mind. i think that most places online you can request certain specs if you desire, but of course it would probably delay shipping a bit. all of the balls that i have got off the internet i'm extremely happy, so i guess i got lucky. how much does your local shop charge for a nmb?